Luqa mosque’s gold-cladded dome could disturb airplanes

The Muslim community’s quest for a much-needed second mosque faces another obstacle after Transport Malta shot down plans for its development on industrial land in Luqa, 150 metres away from Runway 23.

The mosque is being proposed inside the Luqa industrial estate, as it happens, 300m from a Lidl supermarket that was approved in 2006 despite similar air safety objections by the civil aviation authorities.

The transport regulator said it had consulted with Malta International Airport and Malta Air Traffic Services Limited to object to the mosque because its 20m-high minaret would impinge on the runway’s obstacle-free buffer zone, and because glare from a gold-cladded mosque could disorient pilots. “The proposed gold cladding of the dome has potential for solar glare which could cause optical disturbance to both aircrew and air traffic controller,” TM said.

TM also said the mosque’s minaret “would infringe the obstacle limitation protecting the adjacent runway 23” and “jeopardise associated instrument approach procedures.”

TM said it is considering the proposed mosque as an “operational disruption” which will “compromise safety.”

Transport Malta had not objected to a previous application on the same site for the development of a cultural hub for a theatre, external performance space and rehearsal spaces for Maltese bands, approved by the Planning Authority in 2020.

Subsequently, the government shelved this project, by incorporating it in a proposed arts and cultural complex in Marsa proposed by Festivals Malta.

The mosque, and its meeting and administrative offices are proposed on a 2,142sq.m plot in Luqa’s industrial estate, offered to the Islamic Solidarity Malta organisation, instead of their temporary site of worship at L’Ospizio, in Floriana.

The public land in the industrial estate was entrusted by way of a ‘commodatum’ (temporary possession) to Islamic Solidarity Malta, to continue exercising faith and socio-cultural activities after they vacate the Knights-era Ospizio in Haywharf, which has been used for prayers since 2016.

Back then the government had reached an agreement with a part of the Muslim community in Malta, granting them an outdoors area within the Ospizio to hold Friday prayers in an open space until a permanent location is found for a new mosque. The agreement was reached after Muslims started to gather in Msida outside the church parvis, after having been evicted from several meeting places around the island due to a lack of planning permits. A request to change the use of a large garage in Santa Venera for worship had also been denied.

But now it turns out that nobody realised that the Luqa industrial plot was close to a civil aviation runway which makes the building of a mosque problematic.

The need for a second mosque has been a pressing one for the past years as the number of Muslims, both foreign and Maltese nationals, has grown in the past years.

Muslims are expected to pray five times a day and Friday prayers are conducted collectively. Muslims who spoke to this newspaper have also pointed out that it is has become impossible to accommodate so many people in one mosque.